Hacking Your ADHD – Research Recap with Skye: TikTok and ADHD – Sorting Facts from Misinformation

Host: William Curb
Guest: Skye Waterson
Release Date: October 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the Research Recap series investigates a 2022 research paper titled “TikTok and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, A Cross Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality.” William and Skye delve into how TikTok serves as a platform for ADHD information—clarifying whether what’s being shared is accurate, misleading, or simply personal experiences. They examine the methods and findings of the paper, candidly discuss the challenges with mental health content on social media, and consider the practical implications for both viewers and creators.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hosts’ Relationship With TikTok and Short-Form Content

[03:44] Skye’s Perspective:

• Skye previously used TikTok but decided to stop due to its negative impact on her mental health, though she still consumes similar content on Instagram and YouTube Shorts.

“I value my mental health... I ended up just turning it off... I just have decided TikTok isn’t for me...” – Sky Waterson ([03:44])

[04:26] William’s Experience:

• William describes TikTok’s algorithm as “actively detrimental” to his health. He notes average users spend about 95 minutes per day on the app, equating to hundreds of videos, given their short length.

“Average TikTok user watches about 95 minutes of TikTok a day... the average user is going to be seeing hundreds of videos a day.” – William Curb ([04:26])

2. Study Purpose and Methodology

[06:20] Study Goals:

• TikTok is a major platform for health information, with #ADHD as the seventh most popular health-related hashtag.
• The paper’s aim: Determine the quality and accuracy of ADHD information available in top TikTok videos.

[07:18] Assessment Tools:

• Researchers analyzed the top 100 #ADHD TikToks using:
  • PEMAT-A/V: Assessed understandability, not factual accuracy.
  • JAMA Benchmark Criteria: Evaluated attribution, transparency, currency, and whether sources were cited.

[08:47] Challenges with JAMA Criteria:

• Skye points out that even well-meaning creators often fail JAMA standards, mainly due to lack of explicit citations.

“I probably still didn’t do it according to JAMA because I didn’t know about JAMA.” – Skye Waterson ([08:19])

3. Types of Content: Useful, Misleading, and Personal Experience

[10:09] Misleading Examples:

• TikToks making unsubstantiated claims, e.g., “if you listen to this, it will tell you if you have ADHD,” or equating “out of sight, out of mind” with object permanence.

“If you listen to this, it will tell you if you have ADHD… just kind of off the wall wild stuff...” – Skye Waterson ([11:23])

• Conflating clinical concepts (like emotional dysregulation) with symptoms.
• Incorrect statistics, such as claiming ADHD is equally common in boys and girls.

[13:40] Classification:

• Videos were coded as:
  • Misleading: Contained factual inaccuracies or unsubstantiated claims.
  • Personal Experience: Shared individual stories, unless containing generalizations (then marked misleading).
  • Useful: Offered evidence-based info, often with recommendations to see professionals.

[15:00] Healthcare Professional Content:

• The study hoped for more professionals creating content. Data shows professional videos had fewer likes than non-professional, likely due to presentation style.

“People just didn’t resonate much with healthcare professional information, which makes sense because the way it was being described was very clinical...” – Skye Waterson ([15:29])

[17:00] Even Professionals Err:

• 20% of healthcare professional videos were misleading—underscoring that credentials aren’t a foolproof guarantee of accuracy.

4. Study Findings

[18:22] Results Breakdown:

• 52% of videos were misleading
• 27% were personal experience
• 21% were classified as useful

[18:57] Separation of Personal Experience and Useful:

• The hosts question whether this distinction is fair, as much of ADHD advocacy and awareness builds on individual accounts.

“I don’t know if I feel great about the fact that we’re separating useful and personal experience here.” – William Curb ([18:57])

5. Nuance and Misinformation

[19:48 & 20:03] The Role of Nuance:

• The most common source of misinformation is lack of nuance—oversimplifying ADHD as “just a dopamine deficit” or “just overstimulation.”
• Both hosts stress that social media creators, regardless of intent or expertise, risk spreading inaccuracies.

6. Actionable Takeaways

For Viewers:

• Treat TikTok and similar platforms as a starting point—verify claims elsewhere.

“Maybe using these spaces like TikTok as a jumping off point to go, ‘Oh, that’s really interesting. I wonder if that’s true,’ rather than going, ‘I just heard that, and therefore that is true.’” – Skye Waterson ([20:39])

For Creators:

• Try to cite sources—even if only in the comments or descriptions.

“Maybe that’s the thing we can all take away from this is like, hey, go back to citing your sources. You can put it in the comments. It’s not going to kill your, your reach.” – Skye Waterson ([22:14])

On the Value of Research Recaps:

• The hosts hope listeners appreciate the deep dives and encourage feedback and topic suggestions for future episodes.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On User Experience:
  • “TikTok has a very good algorithm at capturing attention. It was just hard for me to both be on there and then being like, I don’t think I should use this...” – William Curb ([04:26])
• On the Challenge of Accuracy on Social Media:
  • “Everybody on social media might be misleading you because even the people who were doing it in an academic context... they still had some misleading information.” – Skye Waterson ([20:39])
• On Citing Sources:
  • “The citing of sources is really important because we want to know where people are getting their information so that people can check for themselves. Because I know I’m going to get things wrong.” – William Curb ([21:17])

Key Segment Timestamps

• [02:27] Episode proper begins, introducing William, Research Recap, and Skye
• [03:44] – [06:20] Discussion of TikTok usage and personal boundaries
• [06:20] – [08:47] Study background and methodology (PEMAT & JAMA criteria)
• [10:09] – [13:40] Specific examples of misleading or useful content
• [15:00] – [17:00] Contrast between professional and layperson content, popularity factors
• [18:22] – [20:39] Breakdown of study results and implications
• [21:17] – [22:14] The significance of source citation and transparency

Conclusion

This episode offers a thoughtful, evidence-based exploration of how ADHD content circulates on TikTok, exposing the blurred lines between factual, personal, and misleading material. William and Skye advocate for critical consumption of social media content and more transparency from creators, recognizing the power—and pitfalls—of platforms like TikTok in shaping popular understanding of mental health.